Isabel Costello

LATEST ARTICLES ( 428 )

• Guest Author – David Rain on The Butterfly Effect: Retold Stories

  

  Some stories have such a strong hold on the popular imagination that they refuse to fade away. The desire to reconnect with the familiar in a new way has a... Read more

  Posted on 10 May 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Word of Mouth – Isabel Costello Interviewed by Claire King on Book Blogging

  Thanks to Claire King, debut author of The Night Rainbow (Bloomsbury) and a past Literary Sofa Guest for interviewing me about book blogging. Read more

  Posted on 07 May 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Short Fiction Special

  

  Display of Short Story Collections, Daunt Books, Marylebone Until relatively recently, I was a short fiction sceptic.  The fact that I rarely read it didn’t sto... Read more

  Posted on 02 May 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Lionel Shriver at The Society Club

  

  , 27 April 2013. Copyright Paul McVeigh with thanks.I’ve attended many author events and have been lucky to hear/meet some of the big name novelists who’ve... Read more

  Posted on 29 April 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Things I Hate About My Writing and Other People’s

  

  OK, hate is too strong a word, but even blogposts need a good title…I’ve been in hypercritical mode lately and I’m hoping this will get it out of my system.  ... Read more

  Posted on 26 April 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• A Solitary Writing Week

  

  As you may recall, at the start of 2013 I set myself the challenge of re-writing my oft-rejected-but-apparently-not-that-bad novel after calling in the... Read more

  Posted on 21 April 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Mary Beth Keane on Fictionalising a Historical Figure

  

  Most writers say they learn from every book they read and I’d agree with that. Whilst it’s very valuable to observe how others handle a similar theme, style or... Read more

  Posted on 10 April 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Karl Taro Greenfeld on His 10 Favourite Novels-in-Stories

  

  Any novel set in New York City, whether historical or contemporary, stands a good chance of catching my eye but two things in particular attracted me to Karl... Read more

  Posted on 03 April 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Review – Wise Men by Stuart Nadler

  

  The buzz and excitement surrounding debut author Stuart Nadler in the United States has gone global. To call it hype would suggest that it’s not justified and... Read more

  Posted on 27 March 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Karen Campbell on Writing Beyond Her Own Experience

  

  Many people say they read fiction because a book gives them the chance to step into lives other than their own. Sometimes this comes in the form of escapism,... Read more

  Posted on 19 March 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Tracy Chevalier on Writing About the Underground Railroad

  

  Given my love of US fiction, it’s surprising that I haven’t hosted an American guest author before now, but it’s been worth the wait – I’m thrilled to welcome... Read more

  Posted on 14 March 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Review – Life After Life by Kate Atkinson

  

  Kate Atkinson is one of Britain’s foremost literary novelists writing today – of this there is no doubt. Unlike many other writers of that rank, she doesn’t... Read more

  Posted on 12 March 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Launches & Black Vodka

  

  ‘You go to a lot of book launches,’ people say to me.It’s true.  It’s one of the many wonderful things, all the more so for being totally unexpected, which... Read more

  Posted on 05 March 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Review – Five Star Billionaire by Tash Aw

  

  I’m struggling to think of more than two books I’ve read set in China and I suspect they’re the same two everyone else has read: Wild Swans (1991) by Jung... Read more

  Posted on 27 February 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Keeping Up with the Literary Joneses (or The Tyranny of the TBR)

  

  Before I joined Twitter and started blogging (both less than two years ago) I had never even come across the term TBR (To Be Read). Read more

  Posted on 21 February 2013 BOOKS

• Guest Author – Claire King on A Child’s Point of View

  

  Although there’s been a trend for books with child narrators over the last few years, not many have appeared on the Literary Sofa. Read more

  Posted on 12 February 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Book Review – The Engagement by Chloe Hooper

  

  When compiling my two main listings of the year I always like to include fiction from different parts of the world. The vivid sense of both urban and rural... Read more

  Posted on 05 February 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Guest Author – Sarah Butler Ten Things I’ve Learnt Whilst Writing About Cities

  

  Despite growing up in the country I’ve become a real city person as an adult and have lived in London (south then north) for over half my life. Read more

  Posted on 30 January 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE

• Why Am I Doing This Again?

  

  I only talk about my own writing on this blog when I reach a significant point. A year ago, I wrote about how it felt to finish my first novel. Read more

  Posted on 25 January 2013 SELF EXPRESSION

• Book Review – The Starboard Sea by Amber Dermont

  

  HALF of my Fiction Hot Picks for 2013 have a January UK publication date, and I didn’t anticipate what a scramble it would be to give them the attention they... Read more

  Posted on 21 January 2013 BOOKS, CULTURE